Stray W8SCS

Stray has been recognized as the CANAM Net Member of the Year for 2022. See the Member of the Month / Year page. Picture below of Stray with his certificate.

My name is Shannon Straley, but all my friends call me “Stray” for short.  My callsign is W8SCS and I am new to the hobby.  I received my first ticket in August of 2020 and didn’t wait very long to upgrade to General in October of 2020, and then Amateur Extra in April of 2021.  My grandfather was a radio operator in the Navy during WWII and passed away in 1995.  I inherited his old Lionel J-38 straight key from my father after he passed in 2018.  I grew up in Waterford, Michigan and left for the army in 1987.  While serving as an infantryman I was taught the basics of CW and how to construct a simple dipole antenna.  I ended up in Colorado at the end of my military career and became a state trooper with the Colorado State Patrol. I retired from the patrol in 2012 and got into GMRS radio through the local Jeep club that I went off-roading with, but due to family life, just never had the time to take the amateur radio exams.  I relocated back to Michigan when my father became ill in 2017 and after his passing, I took the time to study and began my path into the hobby.  I have met a lot of wonderful people through amateur radio and with 100 watts and wire I have made contacts with lots of wonderful amateurs all around the world. It’s amazing to be able to converse with someone in another country and the only language either of us understands is CW.  Hope to hear you down the log es 73!!!!